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SENATE ENERGY PANEL EYES OIL EXPORTS: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is jumping into the debate over potentially lifting the U.S. oil export ban during a hearing today. Witnesses include Continental Resources Chairman and CEO Harold Hamm and Dan Weiss of the Center for American Progress. The hearing will offer a chance to get a read on Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is slated to soon take the committee gavel, as well as other panel Democrats — plus whether there’s room for bipartisanship on the issue. Our own Darren Goode talked with Hamm yesterday about the ban, which the oil billionaire says is an anachronism of the 1970s Arab oil embargo that should have been lifted long ago, and Weiss, who says lifting the ban will help big oil companies but raise gasoline prices. http://politico.pro/MgWUom

If you go: The fun starts at 9:30 a.m. in Dirksen 366.

Oil exports good for consumers, economy, API says: The American Petroleum Institute doesn’t have anyone testifying at the hearing, but the group is still getting in on the action. API says preliminary results from a new ICF International study suggests that lifting the crude oil ban would add $70 billion in U.S. upstream investments by the end of the decade, leading to a production bump of as much as 500,000 barrels per day. The study also concludes the additional oil on the global market would cut crude prices by as much as a dollar per barrel, according to API.

AND EPW TAKES ON NUKE ISSUES: All five NRC commissioners are traveling to Capitol Hill today to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to continue discussing post-Fukushima safety recommendations. But ME expects a decent portion of time will center on an agency decision to take a pass on requiring utilities to expedite the transfer of spent fuel in pools to dry casks. GOP senators are sure to continue to pepper regulators about the timetable for completing work related to Yucca Mountain. This is likely to be Commissioner George Apostolakis’ last appearance in the Senate before President Barack Obama decides whether to re-nominate the former MIT professor for full, five-year term — so expect some tea leaf-reading. Either way, the hearing will have to manage a major disruption when the Senate votes on amendments to flood insurance legislation around 11:15 a.m. The hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. in Dirksen 406.

TOP TALKER — NSA REPORTEDLY SPIED ON COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE: The Huffington Post reports: “The National Security Agency monitored the communications of other governments ahead of and during the 2009 United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to the latest document from whistleblower Edward Snowden. … The document indicates that the NSA planned to gather information as the leaders and negotiating teams of other countries held private discussions throughout the Copenhagen meeting. ‘[L]eaders and negotiating teams from around the world will undoubtedly be engaging in intense last-minute policy formulating; at the same time, they will be holding sidebar discussions with their counterparts — details of which are of great interest to our policymakers,’ the document states. The information likely would be used to brief U.S. officials, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Obama, among others, according to the document. …

“The revelation that the NSA was surveilling the communications of leaders during the Copenhagen talks is unlikely to help build the trust of negotiators from other nations in the future. … National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to comment directly on the Snowden document in an email to the Huffington Post, but did say that ‘the U.S. Government has made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.’” HuffPo: http://huff.to/LqNqXu. The document: http://bit.ly/1dPIEJj

MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR COAL ASH RULEMAKING? EPA will finish its controversial, long-delayed rulemaking for coal combustion residuals by Dec. 19 under a statute designed for managing non-hazardous waste materials, the agency told a federal district court today. In a consent decree with environmentalists and industry groups, the agency told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today that it will finish its regulatory process for coal ash under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which covers non-hazardous waste. An agreement to finish a rule is not an agreement, necessarily, to regulate, though that is the likely outcome. The agreement: http://politico.pro/1fdG56t

EXCLUSIVE TO PROS LATER TODAY: POLITICO Pro will publish a special report on President Barack Obama’s executive power maneuvers, with a dozen stories looking at virtually every area of regulation, rule-making and executive action coming from the administration. The special report will dive into the president’s State of the Union promises and will reveal a much deeper regulatory and executive power agenda for the final years of Obama’s term. Look out for an email later this evening, customized to your policy interests.

**A message from POWERJobs: Jobs on our radar this week: Director of Business Development, Department of Energy at SAIC, Energy Resources Manager at Deloitte, and Regulatory Issues Advisor at NRECA. Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at www.POWERJobs.com; finally, a career site made for YOU!**

‘Hazardous’ reg still on the table, Earthjustice says: EPA could still regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste, according to Earthjustice Vice President Abigail Dillen. But she noted that EPA could still decide to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste, under Subtitle C of RCRA, since that was one of the two options in its proposed rule. “EPA still has the discretion to go C or D,” she said. Industries that use fly ash in consumer products, like cement and wallboard, have argued that a “hazardous” designation could harm their industry. Others in the power industry argue that cleanup of older coal ash ponds would be too expensive, and some lawmakers have pushed back against the federal-government-centric nature of Subtitle C regulations.

EPA DEFENDS RESPONSE TO MEDIA IN W.VA. SPILL: EPA has been working to respond in a timely to media requests about the West Virginia chemical spill earlier this month, but the agency's first priority has be emergency response, Associate Administrator for External Affairs Tom Reynolds writes to two journalist groups. EPA took fire last week from the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists, who alleged (http://bit.ly/1hJEwjc) that EPA and the Centers for Disease Control have been “evading” the media. “In the case of the West Virginia chemical spill, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection is the lead agency responsible for overseeing and coordinating the response activities,” Reynolds writes, adding that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is the primary agency on the case. EPA’s response: http://politico.pro/1mZm4DD. And the CDC’s Jan. 22 response: http://bit.ly/1fd7S6Y

McCARTHY TO ANNOUNCE NEW STORMWATER RUNOFF TOOL, RESEARCH MONEY: EPA will release an update to its National Stormwater Calculator and Climate Assessment Tool that now includes climate models for calculating stormwater runoff, agency chief Gina McCarthy will announce when she keynotes the National Council for Science and the Environment’s conference today. McCarthy will also announce $9 million in grants for research into nutrient pollution.

Set your DVR: McCarthy will bookend her day with MSNBC appearances. McCarthy will talk up State of the Union and climate change at 9 a.m. on "The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd" and on "All In With Chris Hayes" at 8 p.m.

Also on today’s radar: President Barack Obama is on his own post-SOTU tour, and today will speak about the economy at a General Electric's Waukesha Gas Engines facility in Wisconsin before heading to Nashville to talk education.

OKLAHOMA WANTS SCOTUS TO TOSS EPA HAZE PLAN: Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt petitioned the Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn EPA regulations that would impose costly requirements on three of the state’s power plants in order to clear the skies in national parks. Erica Martinson explains: http://politico.pro/Mi0sa2

IPCC TO RELEASE FULL SCIENCE REPORT TODAY: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release the full and final report on the science of climate change today. Pros will remember the IPCC's Working Group I released a summary for policymakers last September (refresher: http://politico.pro/1k8oi3Y).This version includes that summary, plus a technical summary, 14 chapters and six annexes. And the document coming out today is just one part of the IPCC’s fifth assessment report; other sections still to come include the effects of climate change and mitigation techniques.

OIL TRAINS CAUSING AMTRAK TRAFFIC, GROUP SAYS: An Amtrak train that runs from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest regularly suffers eight-to-ten hour delays because of increased traffic from freight trains carrying crude oil, and an advocacy group wants Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to get involved. "Delays of up to eight to ten hours have plagued the Empire Builder, inflicting extreme inconvenience — often at considerable personal expense — to literally thousands of Amtrak passengers and their families," National Association of Railroad Passengers President Ross Capon wrote to Foxx: http://bit.ly/1a2tIwj

APPA PICKS NEW CHIEF: The American Public Power Association’s board has picked Sue Kelly to be the group's new president and CEO when Mark Crisson leaves on April 1. Kelly has been at APPA for a decade and is currently the general counsel and senior vice president for policy analysis.

— The Alliance to Save Energy’s Board of Directors has voted Jorge Carrasco, CEO and general manager of Seattle City Light, as a co-chair to replace the outgoing National Grid U.S. President Tom King. Carrasco has been on ASE's board since 2010.

WESTERN GROUP PUSHES JEWELL ON CLIMATE ACTIONS, METHANE LEAKS: Interior Secretary Sally Jewell needs to do more than her predecessors to tackle climate change, make oil and gas drilling safer and mitigate the impacts of development, the Center for Western Priorities says in a report out today making recommendations for Jewell's tenure. It recommends she increase onshore oil and gas royalty rates, utilize more master leading plans on federal lands, write rules for oil and gas producers on plugging methane leaks and give more protections to certain conservation areas. More: http://bit.ly/1b6uYNr

GROUP PUSHES EPA TO REQUIRE OIL, GAS EMISSIONS DISCLOSURE: The Environmental Integrity Project will release a report today saying several hundred oil and gas extraction sites are releasing millions of tons of toxic chemicals each year, but are not required to report those emissions to EPA because of what the group calls a loophole in a disclosure law. EIP says it got the data from state databases, but that the information is incomplete. The group will submit the data to EPA later today, and hopes it moves the agency on a 2012 petition (http://bit.ly/1cvr2GY) to address the issue under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act.

WATCH OUT FOR ENERGY REGULATION WATCH: Our new tipsheet on regulation issues in the energy world is back for its second edition on Friday. Check your inboxes then and in the meantime, visit our interactive regulation tracker: http://politico.pro/JY0iDN, or sign up at the settings page: http://politico.pro/1bCSF0e

QUICK HITS

— The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has set up a special proceeding to consider the costs and benefits of rooftop solar. Denver Post: http://bit.ly/1a2Q692

— A North Dakota oil industry task force promises to cut down on the practice of flaring excess natural gas. New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1ehy81Z

— New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered state agencies to increase oversight of oil-by-rail. AP: http://nyti.ms/Lc6AQg

— Bird groups have gotten the National Guard to drop plans for a wind turbine in Ohio. News-Messenger: http://ohne.ws/Mi1F12

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Have a nice day.

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